South Magazine Spring 2024

SPRING 2024
FLAGSHIP OF THE GULF COASTSM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
Jaguar
Traditions
10
Storm
Sentinels
Alumni
Awards
Hope and
Healing
Home Away
From Home
SOUTH MAGAZINE 1

SOUTH MAGAZINE is published
twice a year by the University of
South Alabama and distributed
to alumni and friends.
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT
Jo Bonner
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
AND PROVOST
Dr. Andi M. Kent
VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT
AND ALUMNI RELATIONS
Margaret Sullivan
VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING
AND COMMUNICATIONS
Jim Berscheidt
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF
STRATEGIC AND EXECUTIVE
COMMUNICATIONS
Jeb Schrenk
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF
MARKETING AND CREATIVE
SERVICES
Diana Nichols
CONTRIBUTORS
Casandra Andrews
Thomas Becnel
Lance Crawford
Amber Day
Lindsay Hughes
Mike Kittrell
Seth Laubinger
Kim Lovvorn
Michelle Matthews
Sarah McEnemy
Steve Millburg
James Palomo
Kylie Scioneaux
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Jim Berscheidt
Lance Crawford
Karen Edwards
Kim Lovvorn
Diana Nichols
Jeb Schrenk
Margaret Sullivan
Joy Washington
THE 34TH ANNUAL
OOZEBALL tournament in
April raised $14,000 to
support the Southerners and
the Spotting Excellence
Scholarship. For more
University of South Alabama
traditions, see page 10.
ON THE COVER
A visual tribute by Beatriz Ortiz
to University of South Alabama
celebrations and traditions.

IN THIS ISSUE
14
Crowd Favorite
The Jaguar
Marching Band
leads the KOR
parade.
22
Major Competitor
Meet the Jags’
new head football
coach, Major
Applewhite.
46
Sand Dollars
Alabama Gulf Coast
beaches continue
to draw crowds.
SOUTH MAGAZINE 1

2 SOUTH MAGAZINE

FROM THE PRESIDENT
PANCAKES WITH THE
PRESIDENT has become
a much-anticipated
highlight of finals week.
Pomp,
Pancakes
and Pride
At the University of South Alabama,
traditions connect us while our
energy keeps us creating experiences
for the next generation of Jaguars.
THERE’S PLENTY OF POMP
and circumstance during
Commencement, and not just
the timeless composition by Sir
Edward Elgar.
The regalia. The ceremonial mace
held by the Faculty Senate president. Our new
graduates moving their mortarboard tassels
from the right to the left after the conferring
of degrees.
The entire ceremony is steeped in tradition,
and it’s one of my favorite events. I’m
humbled to have the opportunity to shake
each graduate’s hand and celebrate with
them the culmination of years of diligence
and sacrifice.
Many of our graduates participate in a
relatively new tradition — the decorating
of their mortarboards. I especially get a
kick out of seeing our Jaguar spirit buttons
incorporated.
In this edition of South Magazine, we
pay tribute to beloved traditions, other
experiences that connect us and the yearly
rhythms of living on the Gulf Coast.
For a university just 61 years old,
we’re quite good at creating and celebrating
new customs.
In my interactions with thousands of high
school students each year, I proudly offer
this truth: The University of South Alabama
is big enough to offer all the things a large
institution can offer, but small enough — and
young enough — to be nimble. At South, you
build the traditions.
Our students are the force behind the Battle
for the Belt, Junk the Jungle and the annual
Oozeball tournament.
Recent additions to the USA calendar
include the Jaguar Senior Medallion Awards,
which recognize some of the best and
brightest of our graduating seniors, along
with Pancakes with the President, which gives
University leadership an opportunity to serve
our students a late-night breakfast during
finals week.
A Night Honoring Healers celebrates our
USA Health care team and partners, while for
nearly two decades the Distinguished Alumni
and Service Awards gala has recognized the
accomplishments of our alumni and friends.
Altogether, these are some of the things that
make us uniquely South. And together, we will
continue finding new ways to show what it
means to be a Jaguar.
Jo Bonner
President
SOUTH MAGAZINE 3

VIEW FROM THE
Bell Tower
JANICE WAYNE
keeps supplies
sorted in 622
square feet of
organizational
storage in the
new ROTC
building.
4 SOUTH MAGAZINE

VIEW FROM THE BELL TOWER
ROTC GETS
A GLOW UP
U.S. ARMY AND U.S. AIR FORCE
ROTC cadets have a newly
renovated, 15,925-square-foot
facility on the University
of South Alabama campus
repurposed especially for them.
The Jaguar Battalion of
Army ROTC and the Air Force
ROTC Detachment 14 had been
located in Alpha Hall South,
which was demolished to make
room for the new Frederick P.
Whiddon College of Medicine
building.
The ROTC facility off Aubrey
Green Drive houses everything
the cadets could possibly need
under one roof.
Army ROTC is at one end
of the building, and Air Force
ROTC is at the other, each with
their own offices, classrooms
and kitchens. Shared spaces
include an auditorium, a
workout room, locker rooms,
a computer lab/lounge with a
TV and a 4,800-square-foot
covered outside area for
physical training, ceremonies
and more. Two supply rooms
offer space to store and check
out camouflage gear and dress
uniforms.
Staff members and cadets
moved into the new space
in March.
JAG DAYS
DELIVER
IF FREQUENT JAGUAR MILES were
a thing, the University of South
Alabama’s Admissions team
would rack them up.
So would President Jo Bonner
and Executive Vice President and
Provost Dr. Andi Kent, who also
hit the road recruiting students.
One of the main events: Jag Days.
On Jag Days, the team picks up
high school students and delivers
them to campus aboard red and
blue Jaguar Athletics buses for
VIP tours. These innovative tours
were featured in an Inside Higher
Ed story, “The College Tour That
Comes to You.”
During the 2023-24 academic
year, there were 36 of these Jag
Days. And when the team isn’t
giving students a lift back to
campus, they’re visiting with
even more schools across the
country in hopes of bringing
more students to South.
Vroom, Vroom
THE UNIVERSITY OF South
Alabama chapter of SAE
International’s automotive
engineers spent the academic
year preparing “Panthera onca”
(the scientific term for jaguar) to
compete at the Formula Hybrid +
Electric competition at the New
Hampshire Motor Speedway. USA
Jag Racing placed third and will
continue to fine-tune its hybrid
car for next year’s contest. The
designed top speed: 70 mph.
Kent Shaping Alabama
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
Executive Vice President and
Provost Dr. Andi Kent was
selected as one of 25 honorees for
This Is Alabama’s Women Who
Shape the State award.
The 2024 honorees were
recognized during Women’s
History Month in March. The
program focused on women
who are influencing Alabama
through their efforts in business,
community, service and
philanthropy.
A NEW CHAPTER AT THE USA BOOKSTORE
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA Bookstore is getting a $1 million
makeover that should be completed by August. Renovations will
include aesthetic changes and environmental graphics that highlight
South’s campus and culture, along with a complete reorganization and
relocation of all merchandise sections. Also new: a dedicated area for
student JagPack pickup along with a social hub (complete with selfie
spot) for relaxing or studying between classes.
The update will include cool new carpeting, according to Elizabeth
Hall, an interior designer for the University. “The colorways in the Aerial
collection best represented our University color palette and provided
the impact and wow factor that our team was looking for in this
project,” she says.
The bookstore remains open while renovations continue, and Jag
gear can always be purchased online at SouthAlabama.BNCollege.com.
In addition, this summer also brings with it a renovation of the
dining hall’s Fresh Food Company, which opened in 2010, including an
expansion of the salad station and the allergen-friendly station. It will
be open for the fall semester.
SOUTH MAGAZINE 5

VIEW FROM THE BELL TOWER
South Professor Celebrates
Passion for Poetry as First
Mobile Poet Laureate
DR. CHARLOTTE PENCE, director of the Stokes Center for Creative
Writing at the University of South Alabama, received a new title and
fresh direction for writing poems and celebrating poetry when she
was named the first Mobile Poet Laureate earlier this year.
As poet laureate, Pence will share poems and lead programs that
enrich life and language in the Port City.
“This position, in particular, will allow me to focus on poetry,
which is my first passion,” she says. “What I’m hoping to do is be able
to bring poetry and its transformative power to as many people as
possible. This is the ideal platform to do that.”
Pence, an associate professor of English at South, joined the faculty
in 2017. Her poetry has been published in Harvard Review, The
Sewanee Review, Poetry magazine and other journals. Her books of
poetry include “Code,” from 2020, along with “Many Small Fires.”
She’s edited books such as “The Poetics of American Song Lyrics.”
She’s completing a nonfiction book about growing up through
difficult times in Rome, Georgia. It’s called “Gardening in the Dark: A
Memoir on Raising Resilience.”
STACKS
A quick guide to a
selection of books
written by members of
the South community
“Treeborne: A Novel”
By Caleb Johnson, assistant
professor, English; Picador, 2018
Janie Treeborne lives on an
orchard at the edge of Elberta,
Alabama, and in time, she has
become its keeper. A place where
conquistadors once walked,
and where the peaches they left
behind now grow, Elberta has
seen fierce battles, violent storms
and frantic change — and when
the town is once again threatened
from without, Janie realizes it
won’t withstand much more, so
she tells the story of its people.
“Four Augustan Science
Poets: Abraham Cowley,
James Thomson, Henry
Brooke, Erasmus Darwin”
By Richard Hillyer, professor,
English; Anthem Impact, 2020
Focusing on four poets who,
because of their distinctive
profiles, illustrate especially well
the opportunities and pitfalls of
writing science poetry during
the long 18th century, “Four
Augustan Science Poets” offers
numerous close readings that
shed light not only on standard
versions of the sublime but also
on these idiosyncratic variants:
the apologetic (Cowley), the illicit
(Thomson), the perverse (Brooke)
and the atheistic (Darwin).
“Soundtracked Books from the
Acoustic Era to the Digital Age:
A Century of ‘Books That Sing’”
By Justin St. Clair, professor,
English; Routledge, 2022
What, exactly, is a soundtracked
book? Quite simply, it is a book
— a physical, print publication
or its digital analogue — for
which a recorded musical
complement has been produced.
First patented in 1917, “books
that sing” have been hiding
in plain sight for more than
a century. Offering both a
short history and a theoretical
framework, this project is the
first extended study of the
soundtracked book as a media
form.
“Hysteria, Perversion, and
Paranoia in ‘The Canterbury
Tales’: ‘Wild’ Analysis and the
Symptomatic Storyteller”
By Becky Renee McLaughlin,
professor, English
Beginning with the spectacle
of hysteria, moving through
the perversions of fetishism,
masochism and sadism, and
ending with paranoia and
psychosis, this book explores
the ways that conflicts with the
Oedipal law erupt on the body
and in language in Chaucer’s
“Canterbury Tales.”
“The Southernization
of America: A Story of
Democracy in the Balance”
By Frye Gaillard, former writer
in residence, and Cynthia
Tucker, journalist in residence;
NewSouth Books, 2022
In 1974, John Egerton published
his seminal work, “The
Americanization of Dixie.”
Pulitzer Prize winner Cynthia
Tucker and award-winning
author Frye Gaillard carry
Egerton’s thesis forward in “The
Southernization of America,”
a compelling series of linked
essays considering the role of
the South in shaping America’s
current political and cultural
landscape.
“Swimming Pretty: The Untold
Story of Women in Water”
By Vicki Valosik, M.A., sociology,
2008; W.W. Norton, June 2024
“Swimming Pretty” traces a
century of aquatic performance,
from vaudeville to the Olympic
arena, and brings to life the
colorful cast of characters —
dating to the 1800s — who
not only laid the groundwork
for the sport of synchronized
swimming but also forever
changed women’s relationships
with water. Far more than bathing
beauties, these swimming starlets
ushered in sensible swimwear
and influenced lifesaving and
physical education programs,
helping to drop national drowning
rates and paving the way for new
generations of female athletes.
6 SOUTH MAGAZINE

VIEW FROM THE BELL TOWER
SNAPSHOT
FASHION, FAMILY AND A SOUTH FOUNDATION
Picture sparks memories for two-time graduate
WHEN DR. CAROL SCOTT CASH turned to page 19 in the Fall 2023 edition
of South Magazine, she discovered a moving-in picture that reminded
her of life in the Alpha residence halls during the early
days of the University of South Alabama.
Only on second glance did Cash, an education professor at
Virginia Tech, realize that one of the people in the 1966 photograph
seemed familiar.
“I went back and thought, ‘Oh, that looks like me,’” she says,
laughing. “I asked my husband, and he said, ‘That is you.’ It was a
real surprise. I’d never seen that photo before.”
She stands second from the right, with a double armful of books and
a flip curl, while her mother carries a sheaf of dresses by her side. It
was the opening of South’s first dormitory. Cash was a freshman from
tiny Bagdad, Florida, east of Pensacola. Even in a small town, fashions
were more formal back then.
“Everyone in my family laughed,” she says, “at how dressed up
we were.”
At South, Cash played oboe in the student orchestra, competed on
the debate team and earned an education degree in mathematics. After
marrying a Navy pilot and starting a family, she earned a master’s
degree in counseling from South in 1972.
She and her husband moved to military bases across the country
and in Japan, but Cash was always able to find work as a teacher. In
Virginia, she became a school principal and then a college professor.
All of this started at South, where her grandson Michael Cash
earned a biology degree in 2023.
“For me, it was perfect,” Cash says. “South was the foundation of my
career. It gave me confidence and taught me how to be a leader. How
often do I think of it? Quite often. I’m very proud that I went to the
University of South Alabama.”
Spring Semester Starts with
Two New Academic Deans
TWO NEW DEANS started Jan. 1 at
the University of South Alabama.
Dr. Angela Barlow is guiding
the College of Education and
Professional Studies, while Dr.
Michael Capella took the reins at
the Mitchell College of Business.
Both Barlow and Capella served
as deans at their previous
institutions.
A native Alabamian, Barlow
most recently served as
professor of mathematics
education and dean of the
Graduate School at the
University of Central Arkansas.
She received her doctorate in
mathematics education from
Auburn University.
“My personal priority will be to
engage with College of Education
and Professional Studies faculty
and staff to understand their
perceptions of the college’s
strengths and opportunities
for growth,” she says. “This
information will support me as
I speak with potential donors,
potential students and our
community stakeholders.”
Capella spent nearly a decade
working in sales before earning
his doctorate in marketing from
Mississippi State University.
He has spent the past 20 years
in higher education and most
recently served as dean of the
College of Business at Loyola
University New Orleans.
“The faculty and staff here
have developed a tremendous
foundation, and my goal is to
leverage our existing assets
to grow enrollment within the
Mitchell College of Business,”
he says. “The Mobile economy
is vibrant and diversified, with
multiple key industries, so I am
enthusiastic to engage with the
local business community and
USA alumni in the region and
beyond.”
MAKE IT REIGN
AFTER A DECADE-LONG hiatus, the
Miss University of South Alabama
program is planning a comeback.
The competition could return
as soon as October and is being
organized by USA staffer Meredith
Moody, who grew up competing in
pageants before attending college
in Mississippi and volunteering
behind the scenes for a Miss
Mississippi preliminary there.
The event on South’s campus
would be a preliminary leading
to the Miss Alabama program.
Miss Alabama then competes
in the Miss America National
Competition. The current Miss
Alabama, Brianna Burrell, is a
USA graduate.
“It’s exciting to see what
lies ahead for the program,”
Moody says. “It’s a wonderful
opportunity to empower and
inspire young women.”
SOUTH MAGAZINE 7

VIEW FROM THE BELL TOWER
SENDING
SENTINELS
INTO THE
STORM
IN ADDITION TO RELYING ON data
from more expensive Sentinels,
engineering professor Dr. Bret
Webb will deploy smaller storm
surge and wave gauges in advance
of a hurricane. They can be affixed
to structures such as this pier on
Dauphin Island.
8 SOUTH MAGAZINE

VIEW FROM THE BELL TOWER
“For as much as we know about
hurricanes, we don’t have many continuous
measurements of surge and waves right at
the shoreline during landfall.”
WHILE EVERYONE ELSE is fleeing an
approaching storm this hurricane season, Dr.
Bret Webb and University of South Alabama
colleagues will be heading toward it.
Webb, a professor of coastal engineering,
doesn’t have a death wish; he has a data wish.
He’s part of a research effort that, for the first
time, is gathering detailed information about
what happens when a hurricane hits the shore.
He and his team will set up an array of sensors
at the water’s edge, then head to safety before
the storm arrives.
“For as much as we know about hurricanes,
we don’t have many continuous measurements
of surge and waves right at the shoreline
during landfall,” Webb says. “We honestly
don’t know what happens there during these
extreme events.”
Finding out will improve management of
coastal threats. South is working with the
University of Florida and other institutions,
using 33-foot portable masts called Sentinels.
Rugged instruments on the mast and the
base measure wind speed and direction,
wave height, rainfall, barometric pressure,
humidity, water temperature and salinity,
water quality and more. The Sentinels
livestream the readings, along with a video
feed, via a cellular signal.
The total project award, about $550,000
over three years, will include money to
build one Sentinel, finish construction of
another, buy water quality sensors, and
pay for faculty, student and staff time. The
funding comes from the U.S. Coastal Research
Program in conjunction with the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and
Development Center.
Crews will trailer the Sentinels to the
water’s edge at the projected landfall area of
any named storm. Four 19-foot helical piles
will screw the base of the mast into the sand.
Setup takes just 30 minutes.
The rig can survive and keep transmitting
even during a direct hurricane hit, Webb
says. The mast is made of carbon fiber by a
company that primarily builds masts for highperformance
sailboats.
Webb coordinates the network for
Mississippi and Alabama. Other research
teams cover other stretches of the Atlantic
and Gulf coasts. The regional coordinators are
responsible for lining up in advance where
to deploy the Sentinels — either public lands
or private tracts where owners have granted
permission.
Three Sentinels are ready to roll, with more
being built. “The idea is that they would be
spaced at roughly five-mile increments along
the coast within the expected landfall area of a
hurricane,” Webb says.
His research group at South, which includes
an engineering graduate student, plans to
augment the Sentinels’ data by deploying its
own home-built storm surge and wave gauges
nearby. Commercial gauges cost $3,000 each;
South’s cost $200.
The bargain price means the team can make
lots of them. “So we’re going to either cover
a really broad area with a bunch of gauges or
focus all of our instruments in one smaller
area but collect a lot of high-resolution data,”
Webb says.
South has what he calls “a rather robust
extreme events deployment group” of faculty
and students, concentrated in the Department
of Civil, Coastal and Environmental
Engineering, who are on call to help set up the
instruments as winds and waves kick up from
approaching storms.
In other words, South has sentinels to set up
Sentinels, in pursuit of knowledge about one
of the coast’s most destructive threats.
RESEARCHING RESILIENCE For more of Dr. Bret Webb’s work on coastal
resilience, see an April 2024 interactive Washington Post project called
“The New Age of Flooding.” The Post enlisted Webb to explain how the
rapidly rising sea levels on the Gulf and southeast Atlantic coasts are
greatly exacerbating floods in Southern states.
Faculty Take Flight
on Fulbrights
TWO UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA faculty
members have received 2024-25 Fulbright
U.S. Scholar Awards. Fulbright is the world’s
largest and most diverse international
educational exchange program.
Bioarchaeologist Dr. Lesley Gregoricka,
professor of anthropology in the Department
of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work,
will travel to the United Arab Emirates,
where she will examine prehistoric human
skeletons dating to the Early Bronze Age in
order to answer questions about how ancient
communities successfully adapted to their
surroundings during periods of social and
environmental stress.
Dr. Matthew Pettway, associate professor
of Spanish in the Department of Modern
and Classical Languages and Literature,
will conduct archival research on the
philosophical and ethical foundations of Black
Brazilian manhood, sexuality and kinship in
the 18th and 19th centuries at the Brazilian
National Archive and the National Library of
Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. Pettway is South’s
first African American scholar to receive a
Fulbright.
During the 2023-24 academic year, South
had three Fulbright U.S. scholars: Dr. Philip
Habel, professor and department chair of
political science and criminal justice; Dr.
Christina Wassenaar, assistant professor
of management; and Dr. Ermanno Affuso,
assistant professor of economics and finance.
SOUTH MAGAZINE 9

Tell Us You’re a
Jaguar Without
Telling Us
You’re a Jaguar
Oozeball
It’s amazing how much fun you
can have playing volleyball in
foot-deep water and mud. More
than 30 coed teams get down
and dirty — literally — at the
annual Oozeball tournament to
raise money for the Southerners
ambassador program and the
Spotting Excellence Scholarship.
Soul Food Luncheon
This delicious Black History
Month mainstay builds
community among the University
family. The Multicultural
Leadership Center brings
students, faculty and staff
together for a meal to nourish
both body and soul.
Bell-Ringing for Pediatric
Cancer Patients
During September (Childhood
Cancer Awareness Month), a
bronze bell in the courtyard of
USA Health Children’s & Women’s
Hospital sings the sweetest song
in the world for young cancer
patients and their families,
celebrating completion of
treatment.
Traditions
build community.
Whether
heartwarming
or hilarious,
an elaborate event
or a simple
hand gesture,
they bring Jaguars
together.
Week of Welcome
Week of Welcome is really a
week-plus of networking and
bonding opportunities for new
and returning students. Get on
Board Day showcases student
organizations. Convocation
teaches such important skills
as how to sing the fight song
and how to throw a J. Faculty
and staff pitch in to carry
boxes during Move-In Days.
It’s a relatively new tradition
but a strong kickoff to the fall
semester.
Junk the Jungle
You can kick off Homecoming
week by rolling the trees around
the USA Traffic Circle with
impunity — and the Student
Government Association
provides the toilet paper.
Homecoming also includes a
bonfire and pep rally, Greek
step show and, of course, a big
Hancock Whitney Stadium win by
the football team.
High-Fiving SouthPaw
Selfie opportunities abound at
the heart of campus, especially
as Commencement draws
near. The SouthPaw statue and
Moulton Tower and Alumni
Plaza, across from each other
on USA South Drive, draw lots of
picture posers. A few steps away,
the Jaguar Sculpture in front
of the Mitchell Center and the
Waterman Globe in the center’s
lobby have proven Instagramworthy.
White Coat Ceremonies
The donning of a white lab coat
marks the end of classroom
studies and the beginning of
clinical rotations for students
in medicine, nursing, physician
assistant studies, occupational
therapy, physical therapy and
audiology.
Senior Bowl Pediatric
Patient Visits
Around the time that costumed
revelers parade at Mardi Gras,
uniformed football players in
town for the Senior Bowl visit
young patients at Children’s
& Women’s Hospital. It’s hard
to tell whether the kids or the
players find the experience more
moving.
Wall of Honor at Alumni Plaza
An annual ceremony unveils the
names of new Lifetime Members
of the South Alabama National
Alumni Association, along with
those of other University builders
and supporters. To date, the wall
bears 3,931 names.
J Hand
The J-for-Jaguars symbol with
thumb and forefinger grew
as the University encouraged
alternative school spirit displays
to replace a “South in your
mouth!” taunt that arose during
basketball games. Whether you
throw a J, show a J, get your
J-hand up or simply say “J’s up,”
remember to use the left hand so
onlookers see a J and not an L for
… well, you know.
10 SOUTH MAGAZINE

Think of It
as the Beta
Alma Mater
DO YOU REMEMBER singing, “Hail to
thee, our dearest Alma Mater. You’ll
live on o’er time’s eternal sands”?
Unless you attended South in the
1970s, probably not. Those lyrics come
from an Alma Mater unanimously
adopted by the University of South
Alabama Board of Trustees on February
27, 1970.
The trustees that day approved
the University’s $5.6 million annual
budget and awarded a $7,000 contract
for dismantling the Seamen’s Bethel
building downtown and moving the
pieces to campus. Then, according to
the meeting minutes:
“The board members proceeded to
Room 5 of the Administration building
where the Alma Mater was presented
by a chorus made up of the following
students: Suzanne Arnott, Mike
Foerster, Vicki Porter, Jo Ann Siddon,
Fred Watkins and Harold Williamson.
They were accompanied on the piano
by Mr. Ken Harvey, composer of the
Alma Mater and a student at the
University of South Alabama.”
How long and how often it was
used is unclear; it was featured in the
Commencement program as late as four
years later, in 1974.
Here are the full lyrics:
On the Golden Coast of Alabama
Near the Gulf of Mexico
Stands a school to which my heart
is turning
Ever yearning to go.
All the days we will remember,
All the good times and the bad.
Though the years go rushing by us
In our heart she’ll always stand.
USA we never will forsake you.
Unto you we will be ever true.
Hail to thee, our dearest alma mater.
You’ll live on o’er time’s eternal sands.
Chi Omega
Songfest
GREEK ORGANIZATIONS
have their own traditions,
including perhaps South’s
oldest, the Chi Omega
Songfest, which began
in 1966. It raises thousands
of dollars each year for
the local Make-A-Wish
Foundation chapter.
SouthPaw
Then and Now
SOUTH CHOSE the jaguar
as its mascot in 1965. By
1971, the first costume had
appeared — not nearly as
debonair as today’s.
A late 1970s contest
provided the name.
South created a structured
mascot program in
1986 and, in 1992, gave
SouthPaw a sidekick,
Miss Pawla.
Some Things Old,
Some Things New
SOUTH IS YOUNG for a major university and still
creating traditions. Football, which debuted in
2009, inspired The Prowl parade before home
games and the Battle for the Belt game against
Troy. USA Health traditions include the annual
NICU Reunion for Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit graduates as well as their families and
former caregivers. Not all traditions endure.
Remember the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Bed Race?
SOUTH MAGAZINE 11

SOUTHERNERS
Going
Strong
for 46
Years
The Southerners were
established as the University’s
official ambassadors in 1978.
They are a ubiquitous presence
at University functions and
help out at events including
for visiting dignitaries,
Convocation and Board of
Trustees meetings. They also
sponsor service events. In all,
the members worked 2,185
hours during the 2023-24
academic year.
The size of the Southerners
group has increased over the
years to accommodate the
number of requests for them to
appear. They started as a crew
of 12, then increased to 20 in
2014, 24 in 2022 and 28 in 2023.
The Southerners sit on the front
row of the visitor’s section
when the Jags travel to Troy.
The tradition catches the
attention of broadcast crews
when the game is televised.
Dressing
the Part
THE ORIGINAL UNIFORMS for
the Southerners included red
jackets and navy pants for the
men and all navy for the women.
Throughout the years they
alternated from all red for both
men and women to all navy to a
combination of the two.
The women introduced the
signature red heel as part of
their uniform in 2009.
The men moved to the
red jacket and navy pants
permanently in 2014 and added
the bow tie. The bow ties
were an unexpected addition.
Originally ordered as part of a
new online alumni store, the
ties caught the attention of the
Southerners, who have been
wearing them since.
The Southerners presented
the concept of the JagTran
program to President Gordon
Moulton in 2005 and assisted
in fundraising. A photo of
the group in front of the first
JagTran was used in a holiday
card to all alumni that year.
12 SOUTH MAGAZINE

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14 SOUTH MAGAZINE
Rites of

Revelry
Each year, the Jaguar Marching Band appears
in at least one Mardi Gras parade. As they
step out in the 2024 Knights of Revelry
parade, the band plays the Jags’ fight song,
“South!,” “Jaguar Pride” and one of their
signature tunes, Cameo’s “Word Up!”
PHOTO ESSAY BY KIM LOVVORN
SOUTH MAGAZINE 15

ON A PICTURE-PERFECT Mardi Gras Day in
downtown Mobile, the University of South
Alabama Jaguar Marching Band leads the
Knights of Revelry’s 150th anniversary parade.
THE 254 BAND MEMBERS
perform a brief, very
loud pep rally for KOR,
the city’s third-largest
parading organization,
on Fat Tuesday at the
Mobile Civic Center
arena. Then they catch
the beginning of the
morning parades.
16 SOUTH MAGAZINE

PARADES ARE A HUGE
part of the culture in
Mobile, which touts itself
as the birthplace of Mardi
Gras, and marching
bands are a huge part of
every parade. After
arriving on six buses, the
Jaguar Marching Band
spends an hour of
downtime catching
throws before they march
behind Folly on the
emblem float. Next,
they’ll follow along the
five-mile route.
SOUTH MAGAZINE 17

18 SOUTH MAGAZINE

DR. WILL PETERSEN,
South’s director of
bands, allows students
to wear beads when they
march in Mardi Gras
parades, but only if the
beads don’t impede
them from playing their
instruments. Band
members sport three
different types of
specially designed,
University-themed
beads — coveted
throws from President
Jo Bonner this year.
SOUTH MAGAZINE 19

A CROWD FAVORITE,
the 15-year-old Jaguar
Marching Band
represents not only the
University but also the
city of Mobile and the
Gulf Coast region as
the members parade in
their sharp red, white
and blue uniforms. The
theme for the 150th
anniversary KOR
parade was “150 Days
of Knights.”
PLANS ARE UNDERWAY to build an
indoor and outdoor complex that
will provide a permanent home for
the Jaguar Marching Band.
20 SOUTH MAGAZINE

SOUTH MAGAZINE 21

22 SOUTH MAGAZINE

IN HIS OWN WORDS
South Is
‘Just Right’
for Coach
Major
Applewhite
University of South Alabama Jaguars Head Football
Coach Major Applewhite and his family — wife, Julie,
daughter, Lila, and son, Nash — have called Mobile home
for the past three years. After serving as the team’s
offensive coordinator for three seasons, he became the
fourth head coach in USA football history in January
2024. Veteran sports broadcaster and USA Director of
Media Relations Lance Crawford recently sat down with
Applewhite to discuss all things football. Here are some
of his thoughts, edited for brevity.
EDITED BY MICHELLE MATTHEWS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KYLIE SCIONEAUX
SOUTH MAGAZINE 23

We’re going to be competitive in the
classroom and be competitive on
the field. We’re going to be tough.
ARRIVING IN MOBILE
“I remember Mobile more as a child, traveling
through here with my parents. We actually
came to a Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles
Stadium. But then coming through here as
an adult, I liked the city more than what I
remember as a child. And then once I got on
campus, it kind of blew me away a little bit. It
was like, wow, I like this campus. It reminds
me of, you know, kind of the Gulf Coast feel,
like growing up in Baton Rouge. There’s a
lot of similarities, and just the beauty of the
campus. I really felt at home, when I hit the
circle drive and kind of drove around, I was
like, I really like this place. And then I got up
the hill and got over to the athletic complex. I
saw this brand-new stadium. We’ve got plenty
of space. We’ve got meeting rooms. This
is a great setup. Now we’re going to take it
different places. We’re going to take it up. But
this is a great setup to be able to recruit young
men within a gas tank’s distance to come to
school. And then you see campus life, and you
see the number of students. It’s not a small
campus, it’s not a small population. It’s not
a large campus with a huge population. It’s
just right.”
WHAT HIS JAGUAR TEAM WILL LOOK LIKE
“They’re going to be competitive. They’re
going to be competitive in everything they do,
or they’re not going to see the field. We’re
going to be competitive in the classroom and
be competitive on the field. We’re going to be
tough. You know, offensively, we’re trying to
score every time we touch the ball. I’m not
talking about every series. I’m talking about
every play, we try to score. Every time we
touch the ball. Defensively, we’re going to
attack. But I want our guys not only just to be
competitive; I want us to win the right way.
“You know, I’m a little bit old school. I grew
up with the coaches that you won with class,
you won with humility, good sportsmanship.
You know, you knocked the guy down and
you get him back up, then say, I’ll see you in
about five or six seconds. I mean, I grew up in
24 SOUTH MAGAZINE

that frame of mind. So a little bit of the things
that you see now are just added distractions.
I want guys to stay focused on the task at
hand, focused on our competitor. But when
someone turns on the TV and there’s no
volume, I want them to see a team that’s flying
around. It’s physical, competitive, that they
can talk to you through the screen. You don’t
need volume.”
ABOUT
MAJOR
APPLEWHITE
Birthplace:
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
QUALITIES OF A GREAT COACH
“I think clearly painting a picture for your
staff as to what you want to be and then
putting forth a plan to give them the time to
do that as a staff. But clearly painting out a
picture: This is what I see our offense as, this
is what I see our defense as, this is what I see
us as in recruiting, this is what I see us in
terms of academics, this is what I see us in the
weight room in our training in our offseason,
and just painting a very clear vision and then
a plan, a plan to go do it. Not just, this is a
vision, y’all figure it out. This is the vision, this
is the plan, and then this is the quality control
to go back and see are we reaching our goals
and our plan. I think you also have to have
some patience. We’re all competitive. We want
it, you know, right now instead of right, so you
have to have some patience, slow things down,
understand there’s a human element in it.
They’re kids, they’re 18 to 22. They’re going
to make mistakes. And we’ve got to be
there to develop them and help them reach
their potential.”
PERSPECTIVES ON THE TRANSFER PORTAL
“The pieces are constantly moving, but it is
what it is. Those are the rules we all know
beforehand. You know, there’s a little part of
me that’s just tired of the whining. It’s what
the rules are. You know, we all agree on it,
right? Right. Well then let’s go play. It’s
however you want to use those rules, it’s
however you want to go about it, however you
want to set your plan and how you want to
make those rules work for yourself. And we’ve
done a good job lately of bringing guys in from
the portal that can help our football team.”
THE HOME TEAM
“My daughter’s a competitive dancer. My son
is 8 years old, he plays all the sports. So
they’re highly involved in all their activities.
My wife has her crew, and that’s really all
you’re looking for. I figured this out from my
mom a long time ago. And so everywhere
we’ve gone, every move we’ve had, I’ve been
like, OK, son’s good, daughter’s good, wife’s
good, I’m good. And that’s just the way it
works. And I can be good about anywhere as
long as those three are good.”
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ONLINE
PHOTO BY SCOTT DONALDSON
Alma mater:
University of Texas,
bachelor’s degree in
sports management
Before coaching:
Played quarterback
at Texas for four
seasons. Named Big
12 Freshman of the
Year and the league’s
co-Offensive Player of
the Year in 1999. In his
final appearance for
the Longhorns, was
named Most Valuable
Player of the Holiday
Bowl.
Coaching experience:
Syracuse University
quarterbacks coach;
offensive coordinator
and quarterbacks
coach at Rice
University; various
roles at Texas; head
coach at University
of Houston; analyst
on Nick Saban’s staff
at the University of
Alabama; offensive
coordinator and
quarterbacks coach
at the University of
South Alabama
SOUTH MAGAZINE 25

Messages
of Hope and
Healing
The Spiritual Health and
Counseling Department at
USA Health provides holistic
care for those in need.
BY CASANDRA ANDREWS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SETH LAUBINGER
MANY PATIENTS AND VISITORS at USA Health
hospitals hear Chaplain Kim Crawford Meeks’
messages of hope and healing before they
ever meet her. Most days, she makes her way
to the communications office at Children’s &
Women’s Hospital, greets the staff and then
heads to a small room off the lobby.
There, she dials into the intercom system,
introduces herself and invites those who
can hear her to pause for a moment — a
meaningful moment.
“It’s OK to not be OK,” she says on a recent
morning, her warm voice echoing softly
down hallways. “Healing is a journey, not a
destination. Grant yourself permission to not
have it all together. Remember, healing takes
time, and progress isn’t always linear. May we
move forward in hope together.”
For USA Health employees who aren’t able
to hear the messages, Crawford Meeks also
sends her meaningful moments via email. At
least once a month, she and her colleagues pen
longer messages through the health system’s
newsletter, and they fan out every day across
hospitals and medical practices offering
scheduled and unscheduled opportunities to
comfort those who need it.
“As chaplains, we meet people where they
are,” she says. “We step into the journey with
those in our care, regardless of where on the
journey they may be.”
The Spiritual Health and Counseling
Department was formally established at USA
Health in early 2022, when Crawford Meeks
was hired, to offer spiritual and emotional
support to patients, their caregivers and
employees. Today, the department includes
four board-certified chaplains and a counselor.
The group is part of a growing number of
chaplains working in hospitals and academic
health systems in the United States. A survey
by the American Hospital Association in
2015 found that some 70% of 4,862 hospitals
surveyed offered pastoral care services, which
was up from 53% in 2002.
Chaplains have been caring for the spiritual
needs of patients (and healthcare workers)
since at least the 1920s. Research and
anecdotal evidence shows that providing the
services of a chaplain in a hospital setting
often improves a patient’s satisfaction with
care, and even increases how a patient
perceives their quality of life, which can lead
to improved mental and physical outcomes.
Physicians, nurses and other hospital staff
often call on members of the spiritual care
department to help in times of crisis. On
any given day, the chaplains at USA Health
experience the full spectrum of life and death.
In hospitals, families celebrate when a child is
born, they gather to grieve those in their final
hours, and they seek hope and healing for the
sick and injured who are fighting to regain
their health.
Outside the hospitals, Crawford Meeks
speaks at dozens of events, including an
annual memorial service held at Moulton
Tower and Alumni Plaza to recognize
members of the USA community who have
passed. Another, every other year, honors the
lives of donors to the USA Anatomical Gifts
Program. That program plays an integral role
in the education of medical students, residents
and physicians.
Throughout the year, Crawford Meeks visits
healthcare workers and support staff face-toface
in their units to perform a blessing of the
hands. With her eyes closed, she extends her
own hands and says:
“Blessed be your hands that offer love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Blessed be your hands that offer hope to the
hurting. Blessed be your hands that offer
security to those who are afraid. Blessed be
your hands that offer healing to the sick.
Blessed be your hands that they may receive
love in abundance of what you ask or imagine.
Blessed be your loving hands.”
The setting varies, but the words and
support are a constant.
26 SOUTH MAGAZINE

CHAPLAIN KIM
CRAWFORD MEEKS visits
healthcare workers and
support staff
face-to-face in their
units to perform a
blessing of the hands.
SOUTH MAGAZINE 27

Kids deserve their own emergency care.
That’s exactly what they receive here.
We understand that bringing a child or teenager to the emergency department
can be an overwhelming experience. That’s why we focus on offering familycentered
care to make sure patients and their caregivers receive the support
they need. USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital offers the only Pediatric
Emergency Center on the Alabama Gulf Coast dedicated to caring for sick and
injured children 24 hours a day, every day. Our specially trained healthcare
staff offers the highest level of care available when every second counts.
usahealthsystem.com
UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL • CHILDREN’S & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL • PROVIDENCE HOSPITAL
MITCHELL CANCER INSTITUTE • PHYSICIAN ENTERPRISE

It Starts with a Ride
from the Airport
BY THOMAS BECNEL | ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH MCENEMY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SETH LAUBINGER
SOUTH MAGAZINE 29

FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS Jim and Mary Mather
have welcomed students from around the globe
through the Friends of Internationals — sometimes
right after their plane lands.
IM AND MARY MATHER FIRST read about the
University of South Alabama in a Pakistani
news magazine. It was 1995. They were
missionaries in Pakistan, where Jim worked
as a nurse in a small hospital, but had started
thinking about returning to America.
The magazine story named South as one
of the most popular universities for students
from South Asia. The next year, the Mathers
made their first visit to Mobile. They met
a pair of young pastors who had started a
ministry called Friends of Internationals, but
were planning to leave Alabama and looking
for someone to continue their work.
The Mathers took a leap of faith and made
a two-year commitment to the organization.
That was in 1998. Over the last quartercentury,
they’ve welcomed thousands of
international students to Mobile.
“In our first seven years, we had 10,000
kids in our home,” says Jim Mather. “Not just
in the house, but for a meal.”
The Mathers live in a brick ranch home
across University Boulevard from the South
campus. The kitchen has been expanded to
contain two stoves, and a den stretches across
the rear of the house.
Everyone calls it the “big room.” Banners
with flags from more than 100 nations hang
from the ceiling. Paintings and tapestries
originating everywhere from Haiti to Kenya
and Korea to Japan decorate the walls. A
pingpong table gets pushed to the side for
prayer meetings and potluck suppers.
Mary Mather, who was a physical therapist
before becoming a missionary, sees foreign
students battle homesickness, language
barriers and culture shock. With a little help,
they find their way.
The Mathers often meet students at the
airport or during their first day on campus.
They help make living arrangements, offer
rides around town and try to solve problems.
“You are not alone,” Mary tells newcomers.
“There are other students and other families
here who can help you. There are resources on
campus as well.”
CURRY, LASAGNA AND TACO SOUP
In January, at the beginning of the spring
semester, Friends of Internationals hosted
more than 70 students at a welcome dinner in
the Terrace Room at the Student Center.
There were students from Asia, Africa and
Europe, along with North and South America.
The potluck menu featured everything from
chicken curry and homemade biryani to red
beans and taco soup, along with fried chicken
and mac and cheese.
At the check-in desk, students stuck flag
decals on their name tags. Oluwagbenro
Adesunloro, a Ph.D. student from Nigeria,
heard about Friends from advisers in the
Global USA office.
“They helped with a ride from the airport,”
he says. “And they helped me find a place to
stay until my apartment became available.
Since then, I’ve been involved with the
program.”
Adesunloro teases Brusi Kola, another Ph.D.
student, as he pages through a booklet of flag
decals: “You’re the only one from Albania!”
Kola, like so many Friends, has his own Jimand-Mary
story.
“They invited me to their house for dinner
just after I got here,” he says. “I was a little
skeptical at first — you know, who are these
people? — but it was OK. I told them I liked
Italian food, so Mary cooked lasagna for me.”
The Friends community has always drawn
plenty of foreign athletes at South. The
Mathers are runners and sports fans who
30 SOUTH MAGAZINE

AT THEIR HOME
near campus, Mary and
Jim Mather host potluck
suppers that spill into
their den, where
banners with flags from
more than 100 nations
hang from the ceiling.
cheer for the Jaguar athletes
they know.
Adele Magaud, a French cross
country runner, struggled to
speak English when she enrolled
at South in 2019. It took months
for her to be able to carry on a
conversation.
She heard about Friends of
Internationals from a Norwegian
athlete and met the Mathers on
her second day in Mobile. After a
few years at South, she and some
friends began renting a house
near the Mathers.
“They were the most warm
and welcoming people,” says
Magaud, now a graduate student
at Northwestern University.
“They definitely changed my
experience and made it so easy to
be in the U.S.”
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
Dr. Tara Davis, graduate
coordinator for audiology at
South, is the faculty adviser for
Friends of Internationals. She
met the Mathers soon after
moving to Mobile in 2010.
“I’ve learned so much from
them over the years, and that’s
an understatement,” Davis says.
“I’ve never been around people
who are so passionate about
reaching international students.
It’s very much a priority in
their lives.
“Jim often talks about
the importance of building
relationships with people. That
drives everything they do. They
don’t see students as a project.
They help them feel that Mobile
and South are home, or a home
away from home where they can
feel comfortable.
“They’re very giving, very
hospitable people. It’s not a
front or something they give
lip service to. They live and
breathe by building and keeping
relationships with others.”
Richard Bennyson, an Airbus
engineer in Mobile, got to know
his wife, Nivi, at Friends events.
When they got married a few
years later, Jim Mather was
the officiant at their wedding
in Daphne.
“Most of the people there were
people we knew through Friends
of Internationals,” Bennyson says,
laughing. “There was a flash mob
of people dancing to the song ‘Jai
Ho’ from the movie ‘Slumdog
Millionaire.’”
He remembers earning his
master’s degree from South in
2006 and having 60 days to find
a job before his visa ran out.
Finally, on day 59, he landed an
engineering position.
Through it all, the Mathers
were there. He was always
welcome in their home.
“It was like a refuge when
things were all over the place for
me,” he says.
The Bennysons, who have
two children, remain active
with Friends of Internationals.
Now they’re meeting young
international students, offering
assistance, continuing the work
of the Mathers.
“They’re like our parents
here,” Bennyson says. “We’ve
been with them all of these years
because they opened their hearts
to us.”
L.A. — LOWER ALABAMA
Mary Mather grew up on Long
Island, New York. Jim Mather is a
Navy veteran from Philadelphia.
They met at a religious retreat in
Pennsylvania.
They wanted to become
overseas missionaries and help
people. After getting married,
they spent months training and
learning a new language, Urdu,
then went to Pakistan for five
years.
In Mobile, they’ve raised
their own three children while
developing an extended family
that circles the globe.
Some foreign students at South
are surprised that Mobile isn’t
more like Los Angeles or New
York City — the America they
know from pop culture. This
is why Jim Mather believes it’s
important to reach students
right away.
“The key to success for
international students is they
need to bond early on,” he
says. “Academics is a small
part — a vital part — of the
experience, but it’s not just going
to school. It’s getting involved
in the community. Do they feel
welcome? Do they feel wanted?
That’s what people need.”
SOUTH MAGAZINE 31

32 SOUTH MAGAZINE

NATIONAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Celebrating
the Past,
Preparing
for the
Future
Founded in 1974, the University of South Alabama
National Alumni Association is marking half a century of
giving back to South and transforming students’ lives.
BY STEVE MILLBURG
ARCHIVE PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS
W
HEN YOU TALK TO
MEMBERS OF THE
University of South
Alabama National Alumni
Association, you hear the
same story over and over:
The University transformed my life. I joined
the National Alumni Association to help give
others that same opportunity.
As it celebrates its 50th birthday this year,
the Association provides more than $100,000
annually in scholarships, mostly to children of
members.
Alumni have given their alma mater its
signature landmark (Moulton Tower and
Alumni Plaza, dedicated in 2010) and its most
popular event facility (the MacQueen Alumni
Center, which opened in 2020).
Both stand at the heart of the main campus
not far from Hancock Whitney Stadium, home
of the Jaguars football team since 2020. Those
structures symbolize how sports, especially
football, and the MacQueen Center have
strengthened the bonds between alumni and a
maturing University.
Happy Fulford ’73, ’91 was there at the
Association’s beginning in 1974. A group of
young graduates who hung out together in
Mobile thought “it just seemed like the right
thing to do,” he says. “I give Ken Cunningham
the credit for getting it all going because he
was our first president.”
Fulford, a Mobile native, became the third
president in 1976. “There were eight people at
the meeting,” he says. He won in a landslide
with five votes.
“It was a social thing,” he says of the
Association back then. “At 20-something years
old, I certainly wasn’t thinking about endowed
scholarships.”
And yet, “We loved the University. We
appreciated the opportunity it had provided
us to get an education, and we did want to see
it succeed and help it grow.”
SOUTH MAGAZINE 33

Fulford was the first college graduate in his
family. He worked his way through school. He
planned to start at South and then transfer.
“But I really just fell in love with South. After
the first year, I didn’t want to leave.”
He more or less didn’t. His decades-long
career working at South included stints as
director of alumni affairs and executive
director of governmental relations. He retired
in 2019.
The National Alumni Association now
boasts more than 6,000 members. Benefits
include travel, entertainment, financial
services and retail discounts and several
South-specific deals, including eligibility for
USA Recreation Center membership.
Several societies within the Association
have formed. Among the most active are
groups for alumni of the various University
colleges and the Jaguar Marching Band, plus
societies for Black alumni, military veterans
and past alumni board presidents.
Current President Kim Lawkis ’11, ’13 says
the Association helps the University simply
by bringing people to campus — and not
just alumni. Groups from throughout the
community rent the MacQueen Center
for events.
“You’ve got the campus community,
the alumni community and the Mobile
community,” Lawkis says. “You need all
three of those for us to have a fully developed
identity as a University.”
Like Fulford, Lawkis had to scramble
to get a university education. She grew up
in a single-parent working-class family in
Scottsboro, Alabama. From age 15, if she
wanted anything besides the basics, she had to
work for it.
At South, she had “such a great experience,”
she says. She began volunteering for service
organizations on and off campus. Today, she’s
chief operating officer of Feeding Alabama, a
nonprofit organization that assists food banks
in fighting hunger.
“I want to just serve and give back to an
institution that totally transformed my life,”
she says. “When you look at how many kids
try and don’t make it out of generational
poverty, and then you get to the other side,
you see that there are kids fighting so hard to
be at South. What can I do for them?”
BE A PART OF THE
USA National Alumni
Association’s 50th
Anniversary celebration
by becoming a member.
Already a member? Join
the 1974 Society with
your gift of $1,974 in
support of the
Association’s programs
and services.
Through
the Years …
1974
University of South Alabama
National Alumni Association
is founded with a mission “to
support and positively influence
the goals of the University
through an active relationship
with the University, its alumni,
students and friends.”
1974
The Association’s first president
of the Board of Directors,
Kenneth W. Cunningham ’68,
is appointed.
1975
The Association receives its
certificate of incorporation as a
not-for-profit organization.
1978
The Association creates the
University’s first student
ambassador program, the
Southerners.
1979
The Association establishes
its first student scholarship
programs, the Alumni Leadership
Scholarship and the South
Alabama Scholars Award.
1989
The Association establishes the
Children of Alumni Scholarships
program, which provides
scholarships for students from
Alabama through the sale of
customized collegiate license
plates. Today, the Association
awards more than $100,000
annually in overall student
scholarships.
2000
The Association creates
endowments to recognize
outstanding achievement
through its Employee Recognition
Awards and its Faculty
Excellence Awards.
2010
The Association dedicates
Moulton Tower and Alumni
Plaza, now the most recognized
landmark on campus.
2020
The Association dedicates and
opens the MacQueen Alumni
Center, the on-campus home for
South Alabama alumni.
34 SOUTH MAGAZINE

SOUTH MAGAZINE 35

19th Annual
Distinguished
Alumni and
Service Awards
MARCH 14, 2024
DAN OLLIS ’80
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD
Dan Ollis has spread beauty around the
globe through the Los Angeles-based
design firm Swanson-Ollis Interiors. He’s
an avid South football fan who hosted an
alumni dinner party in his own exquisite
house when the Jaguars played at UCLA.
We love that kind of home team.
36 SOUTH MAGAZINE

DR. PETER
LINDQUIST ’06, M.S. ’11
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD
Dr. Peter Lindquist was passionate about
taking care of customers as a teenager
working at his family’s auto salvage business
in Mobile. He now oversees nursing for
HCA Healthcare’s North Florida Division
and helps bring healthcare to impoverished
children in Haiti.
He won’t toot his own horn, but we will.
ALEXIS ATKINS ’97
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Alexis Atkins enrolled at South while
working full time at her family’s
business, Budweiser-Busch Distributing
Co. She is vice chair of South’s Board
of Trustees, a former president of the
USA National Alumni Association
and a tireless volunteer in the Mobile
community.
Now that’s a story worth a toast.
SOUTH MAGAZINE 37

CHANDRA BROWN
STEWART ’99
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Chandra Brown Stewart speaks
out on behalf of those who have
been overlooked or marginalized
— as executive director of Lifelines
Counseling Services in Mobile and
as a community leader and devoted
volunteer. Her donation of a friendship
bench at the Africatown Heritage
House encourages visitors to sit
together in conversation.
Let us all listen.
SUSAN AND
TRAVIS BEDSOLE JR.
V. GORDON MOULTON DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Travis and Susan Bedsole deeply value
education. They have championed
literacy programs and facilitated
numerous scholarships at South. One of
those scholarships reflects two of their
passions: learning and Jaguar athletics. It
goes to an education major who plays an
NCAA sport.
As the Bedsoles say: Go Jags!
38 SOUTH MAGAZINE

DR. JACK DIPALMA
WILLIAM J. “HAPPY” FULFORD INSPIRATIONAL
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Dr. Jack DiPalma has brought worldwide
respect to the University and USA Health
through his leadership in the field of
gastroenterology. Revered by his students,
he has also built community ties by
serving in local organizations. And he
coaches South’s bass fishing team.
He’s a big fish in many ponds.
UNIVERSITY OF
SOUTH ALABAMA
FOUNDATION
COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARD
The University of South Alabama
Foundation, led by board President John
McMillan and Managing Director Maxey
Roberts, stands as a strong partner with
South. Its support includes funding for
scholarships, healthcare and academic
programs, relying on timber and other
investments.
We’ll shout our gratitude from the
treetops.
WATCH videos spotlighting
this year’s recipients and their
contributions.
SOUTH MAGAZINE 39

40 SOUTH MAGAZINE

JAGUAR SPOTS
Rosette
A MURAL CREATED BY University of South
Alabama alumnus Riley Brenes ’10 and teens at
Strickland Youth Center was a focal point at the
spring Festival of Flowers, an annual fundraiser
for the Providence Hospital Foundation.
SOUTH MAGAZINE 41

ROSETTE
The Power of
Painting
WHEN RILEY BRENES ’10, who
majored in fine arts at the
University of South Alabama,
worked at Strickland Youth
Center, a juvenile detention
facility in Mobile, he enlisted the
help of teenagers there to create
a mural for the annual Festival
of Flowers fundraiser held at
Cathedral Square.
Brenes, who was a transitional
program coordinator, and
the teens started by studying
Sam Lackland, credited as the
founder of Mobile’s Azalea Trail,
a beautification campaign for
the city in the 1920s. Then they
painted a colorful 16-by-8-foot
mural that celebrated Lackland’s
life and legend.
Brenes believes painting and
gardening projects help give
purpose to Strickland youth.
“When they’re in painting
classes, they’re just kids,” he says.
“Their minds are busy. They’re
doing something good. Painting is
like that.”
Strickland murals have
become a centerpiece of the
annual festival, which benefits
USA Health Providence Hospital,
thanks to the support of Circuit
and Juvenile Court Judge Edmond
Naman, another South alumnus.
Brenes also painted two smaller
murals for the entrance to the
event.
“He was a true friend to the
children that needed him most,”
Naman wrote when Brenes left
Strickland. “He has a magical
touch with children who are
lost and hurting and always
seems able to bring out the
best in them.”
When Every
Second Counts
The newly expanded Pediatric Emergency Center at
USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital opened
its doors to patients and their families this spring.
Specially trained healthcare staff offer the highest level
of care available when every second counts.
Here are three takeaways:
1
2
3
THE PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY Center is the only pediatric
emergency department on the Alabama Gulf Coast
dedicated to caring for sick and injured children 24 hours a
day, every day. It has achieved 100% compliance through
the Emergency Medical Services for Children Program’s
National Pediatric Readiness Project.
WITH NEARLY 19,000 square feet, the facility features 25
private treatment rooms, two behavioral health rooms,
areas for major medical treatment and resuscitation, an
isolation area for patients with infectious diseases and
a private space dedicated to the care of pediatric sexual
assault patients.
A SENSORY ROOM is designed to support neurodivergent
patients while providing the opportunity for children to
develop and enhance effective coping skills. The space
offers a variety of modalities that promote sensory
stimulation, relaxation, calming and developmentally
appropriate play.
PHOTO BY BAILEY CHASTANG
READ MORE
42 SOUTH MAGAZINE

ROSETTE
MEDICAL STUDENTS
joined Alabama Gov. Kay
Ivey and other supporters
during the December
groundbreaking of the
new Frederick P. Whiddon
College of Medicine
building.
Good
Eggs
‘AN INVESTMENT
IN THE FUTURE
OF HEALTHCARE’
CONSTRUCTION IS UNDERWAY
on a new, 250,000-square-foot
Frederick P. Whiddon College of
Medicine building that will allow
the University of South Alabama
to graduate more physicians and
enhance research and innovation.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and other
supporters attended a December
groundbreaking on South’s
campus.
The $200 million facility, set
to be completed in 2026, will
round out a medical education
hub on campus that includes
the College of Nursing, the Pat
Capps Covey College of Allied
Health Professions, the Health
Simulation Building and the
Charles M. Baugh Biomedical
Library. When the new building
opens, more than 500,000 square
feet of campus facilities will be
dedicated to healthcare education
and research.
“This facility will offer
our future students the most
advanced learning and research
opportunities anywhere in the
country,” says USA President
Jo Bonner. “It will transform
medicine to the unique needs of
our community while educating
and training the next generation
of providers.”
The new Whiddon College of
Medicine building will provide
state-of-the-art laboratory spaces
that will create flexibility and
efficiency for research today and
in the future. It will also allow
for expanding the class size of
first-year medical students from
80 to 100, with the capability of
increasing to 120 in the future, at
the same time the nation faces a
projected shortage of healthcare
providers.
“This is an investment in the
future of healthcare to meet the
needs of Alabamians,” says Dr.
John Marymont, dean of the
Whiddon College of Medicine
and vice president for medical
affairs. “By national metrics, this
medical school produces highquality
physicians that stay in the
state, helping meet the needs in
primary care as well as in rural
and underserved areas at an
affordable cost.”
The Whiddon College of
Medicine is one of 158 accredited
M.D.-granting institutions in the
United States, and one of only
two in the state. More than 1,139
of its graduates are practicing
medicine in Alabama.
THE USA NATIONAL
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION’S
annual Easter Egg Hunt
helped celebrate six
decades of South. With
more than 6,000 eggs,
the March 30 event at the
Jaguar Training Center
included something
special this year: 250
commemorative 60th
Anniversary wooden eggs
in purple, green, blue
and gold. The University
turned 60 on May 3,
2023; events were held
throughout the year.
SOUTH MAGAZINE 43

ROSETTE
USA BY THE BAY
DRAWS CROWDS
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH
ALABAMA’S new speaker series,
USA by the Bay, has brought
hundreds of people to lectures
and performances by artists,
scholars and industry experts at
the USA Baldwin County Campus
in Fairhope. A July event features
Major Applewhite, South’s new
head football coach. Healthcarefocused
topics complement USA
Health’s significant expansion
in the county. All events are
free and open to the public and
reflect South’s commitment to
building relationships along the
Gulf Coast.
LEARN MORE
For Hannah
Maddux,
Life Is All Kills
and Thrills
HANNAH MADDUX, a superstar
from the University of South
Alabama Jaguars volleyball
team, has spent the past few
months thrilling crowds as an
outside hitter for Vegas Thrill,
one of seven teams in the new
Pro Volleyball Federation.
Maddux was drafted to the
Thrill in the inaugural season of
the women’s professional indoor
volleyball league.
She earned a bachelor’s
degree in broadcast journalism
from South and continued her
education with a master’s degree
in strategic communications.
With two games left to play in
the season, Maddux missed
attending spring Commencement
— so her teammates stepped in
and celebrated her at practice,
surprising her with champagne,
a pink cap and gown and a video
montage of her friends and
family congratulating her.
Originally from Texas, Maddux
was recruited by South as a high
school player. “I wanted to go
somewhere I’d make an impact,”
she says. “I loved the campus
when I came and toured. It was
forest-like, yet near the beach. I
loved being at South.”
Maddux was one of the most
prolific players in program
history, finishing top 10 in
career block assists and kills
per set and top five in total kills
and total attempts. She was
a 2023 First-Team All-Sun Belt
selection and contributed to the
program’s two NCAA Tournament
appearances, both under Coach
Jesse Ortiz.
Following her playing career,
Maddux plans to go into sports
broadcasting.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PRO VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION
44 SOUTH MAGAZINE

MESSAGE FROM THE MAC
UNIVERSITY OF
SOUTH ALABAMA
NATIONAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
2023-2024 NATIONAL
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MEMBERS OF THE USA National Alumni
Association Board of Directors attend
the Distinguished Alumni and Service
Awards on March 14 at the MacQueen
Alumni Center.
National Alumni Association
Officers
Kim Lawkis ’11, MPA ’13
President
Ronnie Stallworth ’03
Vice President
Neil Christopher ’07
Secretary-Treasurer
Jim Moore ’90
Immediate Past President
GREETINGS, JAG NATION!
The 50th anniversary celebration
of the University of South
Alabama National Alumni
Association is in full swing. It’s
been so much fun seeing so
many of you at festivities the
past several months, including
our birthday kickoff party,
the Distinguished Alumni and
Service Awards gala, the Alumni
Easter Egg Hunt and our Member
Appreciation Block Party. Stay
tuned for upcoming events as we
continue to celebrate our 50th
anniversary year.
In this edition, we reflect
on the history of the National
Alumni Association, from our
humble beginnings in 1974 to
the dynamic organization we
are today, and the impact we’ve
made on our beloved University,
our alumni, students and friends.
Alumni continue to play an
important role in the growth
and success of our University
by becoming more integrated
in its life, leadership and
governance. We serve on boards
and committees, assist in student
recruitment, provide expertise on
University initiatives, advocate
on behalf of the University and
contribute time and financial
resources. In the past 20
years, we’ve also contributed
significantly to enhancing the
landscape of our beautiful
campus with the addition of
Moulton Tower and Alumni
Plaza (2010) and the MacQueen
Alumni Center (2020). Both
facilities were designed and
funded by alumni and have
become symbols of our spirit and
commitment to the University of
South Alabama for generations
to come.
I am honored to present
to you the recipients of the
2024 Distinguished Alumni
and Service Awards. Receiving
Distinguished Alumni Awards
were Dr. Peter Lindquist ’06,
M.S. ’11, and Dan Ollis ’80.
Distinguished Service Award
recipients were Alexis Atkins
’97, Chandra Brown Stewart ’99,
and Travis and Susan Bedsole.
The Inspirational Achievement
Award was presented to Dr. Jack
DiPalma, and the University
of South Alabama Foundation
received the Community Partner
Award. This stellar group of
healthcare heroes, educators,
entrepreneurs, corporate
trailblazers and public servants,
along with 119 previous award
recipients, continue to make a
positive impact in our world. We
are so proud of each of them.
Mark your calendars for Oct.
24-26, 2024, for Homecoming
and Alumni Reunion Weekend.
One of the highlights of this
special weekend is the unveiling
of the names of the Association’s
newest Lifetime members on the
Walls of Honor at Moulton Tower
and Alumni Plaza. This year,
we will add 198 names, bringing
the total number of Lifetime
members recognized to more
than 4,000. Also, a highlight
of the weekend is the Golden
Jaguar Luncheon, featuring the
members of the Class of 1974 in
honor of the 50th anniversary of
their graduation. We can’t wait to
see you here!
GO JAGS!
Karen Webster Edwards ’80
Executive Director
USA National Alumni
Association
National Alumni Association
Board of Directors
Mark Acreman ’97
Shadia Anderson ’96
Ross Bonura ’95
Donovan Brooks ’97
Cary Cash ’99
Laura Gabel ’94
John Galanos ’80
Kimberly Hargrove ’89
Clyde Higgs ’97
Ingrid Lawson ’94
Terrence Lewis ’06
Mary Beth Massey ’13, M.Ed. ’15
Joe Molyneux ’71
Mike Odair ’04
Kristin Odom ’09, M.S. ’14, Ed.D. ’19
Bryan Op’t Holt ’01
Brian Rhoades ’95
Laura Sergeant ’91, M.Ed. ’05
Mark Spivey ’02, M.S. ’05
Peter Susman MBA ’20
Paige Vitulli ’86, M.Ed. ’00, Ph.D. ’06
Charlie Warner ’76
Micah Wheeler ’05
Gia Wiggins Ph.D. ’19
SOUTH MAGAZINE 45

GULF COAST USA
SAND DOLL
46 SOUTH MAGAZINE

EACH MAY, some
40,000 people flock
to Gulf Shores for the
three-day Hangout
Fest, one of the
largest single draws
to Alabama’s beaches
with 60-plus acts. The
event kicks off the
start of summer and
the tourist season.
ARS
The
timeless lure of Alabama’s Gulf Coast
supercharges tourism.
BY STEVE MILLBURG
SOUTH MAGAZINE SOUTH MAGAZINE 47 47

“This is my beach.
This is where I
bring my family
every year. This is
where my parents
brought me when
I was a kid. And
now I’m bringing
my kids.”
I
N TOURISM, AS IN MOST THINGS,
trends come and go. The Alabama
Gulf Coast doesn’t play that game. Its
appeal rests on a glittering treasure
with timeless allure.
“Our main attraction obviously is 32
miles of sugar white sand beaches,” says Kay
Maghan, public relations manager for Gulf
Shores & Orange Beach Tourism.
“We hear from people all the time, ‘This
is my beach. This is where I bring my family
every year. This is where my parents brought
me when I was a kid. And now I’m bringing
my kids.’”
Lots and lots of visitors feel that way.
In 2023, travel-related spending in Mobile
and Baldwin counties totaled $9.7 billion,
according to the Alabama Tourism
Department.
That’s a whopping 41 percent of the state
total. The two-county region also accounted
for more than a third of the state’s travelrelated
employment.
“People know that we have tourism here,”
says Amanda Donaldson, senior instructor
in the Department of Hospitality and
Tourism Management at the University
of South Alabama, “but I don’t think that
they understand what it generates for our
economy.”
Decades ago, tourists came primarily from
the Southeast, mostly in spring and summer.
Many restaurants and shops closed in winter.
Over the years, the popularity of Alabama’s
beaches grew. Snowbirds started to fill winter
vacancies. Lodging and attractions extended
north into Foley. And the 2010 BP Gulf of
Mexico oil spill, although an environmental
disaster that threatened a long-term economic
crisis, proved to be no match for the area’s
appeal.
Exhaustive news coverage made the
adjoining beach cities of Gulf Shores and
Orange Beach nationally known. Promotional
campaigns followed. In 2016, for example, the
Alabama Tourism Department set up a beach
chair on a New York City street and invited
all comers to plop down, relax and dig their
toes into powdery-soft Baldwin County sand
— to get just a little taste of a brand known to
generations of Alabamians.
Recovery money helped fund a renovation
of Gulf State Park, the crown jewel of the
state park system, including the construction
of a full-service resort and conference center,
The Lodge.
Chandra Wright, director of environmental
and educational initiatives for the park,
calls it “an international benchmark for
environmental and economic sustainability.”
Construction and design professionals come
from around the world to check out its
stylishly contemporary design.
Another of Baldwin County’s premier
accommodations, the Grand Hotel Golf Resort
& Spa in Point Clear, is the traditional queen
of Alabama Gulf Coast resorts. With a historic
lodge overlooking Mobile Bay, the Grand has
welcomed guests since 1847.
Across the bay, Mobile County tourist draws
include Dauphin Island, Bellingrath Gardens,
USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park and
the street parades of Carnival. Visitors can
explore the local history and contributions
of African Americans, including at the
Africatown Heritage House.
Having so many tourism businesses
next door helps recruit students to South’s
Department of Hospitality and Tourism
Management, Donaldson says.
One of them, Trinity Walker ’23, worked
after graduation as a concierge at Walt Disney
World. She’s now partnership coordinator for
Visit Mobile, the city’s tourism agency.
In tourism, Walker says, “The first
interaction and the last are going to be the
ones they remember most vividly. You have
to greet them with a smile. And then tell them
that you hope to see them back soon.”
Sure enough, again and again, they return
for the things they can’t find anywhere else,
like those familiar sugar-white sands.
TOURIST DESTINATIONS,
clockwise from top left:
Battleship USS Alabama;
The Lodge at Gulf State
Park; the beach at Gulf
State Park; Africatown
Heritage House; Mardi Gras
in downtown Mobile; Grand
Hotel Golf Resort & Spa;
Bellingrath Gardens;
Alabama Point East in
Orange Beach; center, the
boardwalk and jetty at the
Grand Hotel.
48 SOUTH MAGAZINE

GULF COAST USA

Non-Profit
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Mobile, AL
Permit No. 506
307 University Blvd. N.
Mobile, Alabama 36688
Upcoming
Events
USA by the Bay with
Coach Major Applewhite
July 11, 5:30 p.m.
111 St. James St., Fairhope
National Alumni Association
50th Anniversary Block Party
Aug. 16, 5:30-7 p.m.
Braided River Brewing, Mobile
GO Run
Benefiting USA Health
Mitchell Cancer Institute
Sept. 21, 8 a.m.
Hancock Whitney Stadium
Homecoming/Reunion Weekend
Oct. 24-26
USA hosts ULM on Oct. 26
Hancock Whitney Stadium
A Night Honoring Healers
Nov. 7, 5:30 p.m.
Mobile Convention Center
National Alumni Association
50th Anniversary Wrap-up Party
Dec. 10, 5:30-7 p.m.
MacQueen Alumni Center
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA recognized the
Class of 2024 during two May 4 Commencement
ceremonies at the USA Mitchell Center. Friends and
family gathered outside after each one to congratulate
South’s newest alumni.